Meera Jasmine
Alias | Jas, Jasmine Mary Joseph |
---|---|
Age | 36 years |
Height | 5'8" |
Occupation | Actor |
Language Worked in | Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam |
Spouse | U. Rajesh |
Birth Place | Thiruvalla, Kerala, India |
Eye Color | Black |
Hair Color | Black |
Education | schooling in Bala Vihar, Thiruvalla and Marthoma Residential School, BSc de |
Parents | Joseph Philip, Aleyamma |
Brothers | George |
City | Kerala |
Meera Jasmine is an Indian actress from Thiruvalla, Kerala, who appears in South Indian cinema. She won the National Film Award for Best Actress in 2004 and is a two time recipient of the Kerala State Film Award, the Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, as well as the Kalaimamani Award from the government of Tamil Nadu
Meera Jasmine was born in a Syrian Christian family in Thiruvalla, Pathanamthitta district, Kerala, India, to Joseph and Aleyamma.She completed her schooling in Bala Vihar, Thiruvalla and Marthoma Residential School, Thiruvalla. She appeared for her Higher Secondary Exams in March 2000. She had enrolled for a BSc degree in Zoology at Assumption College, Changanassery and completed nearly three months when she was spotted by director Blessy (who was then an assistant director to director Lohithadas) and offered a role in Soothradharan.
Malayalam
Meera Jasmine made her debut in the Malayalam film Soothradharan. Her second film was Gramaphone, directed by Kamal, in which she appeared alongside Navya Nair and Dileep. Her role as a Jewish girl was appreciated by Malayalam critics. Her third film was Swapnakkoodu, a romantic comedy alongside Prithviraj, Kunchako Boban, Jayasurya, and Bhavana under director Kamal. Her performance was appreciated and the film was a high commercial success. Among the five main characters, the one who scored the most was again Meera. She rose to fame in Malayalam cinema with the film Kasthooriman directed by her mentor Lohithadas, in which she enacted comedy and sentimental scenes. She received her first Filmfare award for her performance in Kasthooriman. The film was also a success at the box office, running for 100 days. The same year, she acted in T. V. Chandran's acclaimed Padam Onnu Oru Vilapam. She played a 15-year-old Muslim girl who was forced to marry an older man, for which she was awarded a State Award and the National Award in addition with several other awards. It was followed by her performance as Raziya in Perumazhakkalam alongside Kavya Madhavan.
In the film Achuvinte Amma (2005), she enacted the young, adorable character Achu. She then paired with Mohanlal in Rasathanthram (2006). She played as a girl pretending to be a boy in the first half of the film. The film went on to became a commercial success. Her next film with Dileep - Vinodayathra, which again was directed by Sathyan Anthikkad. She was next featured opposite Mammootty in the critically acclaimed film Ore Kadal. The film was showcased in film festivals and won awards. Her performance as an innocent middle class woman won praise from audiences. Media quoted her as, "Matching step with the megastar in this histrionic race is Meera Jasmine, who amazes you with a stunning delineation of her difficult role"[citation needed]. Her next film was Calcutta News with Dileep. Blessy, who introduced her to film field, was the director of Calcutta News. In Innathe Chintha Vishayam (2008), she collaborated with Sathyan Anthikkad for his fourth consecutive film, again opposite Mohanlal, but failed to succeed. Her next films Minnaminnikoottam with Kamal and Rathri Mazha with Lenin Rajendran, which released after a long post-production delay, were box office failures. More than a year later, she played the role of a music lover and singer in Rajeev Anchal's Paattinte Palazhy. Though the film was commercially not successful, her character was noted and her performance gave her a comeback. Her next film, Four Friends, was a multi-starrer directed by Saji Surendran. She played the role of a cancer patient in this film. In the 2011 film Mohabbat, she played the lead role opposite Anand Michael and Munna. Her upcoming film is Babu Janardhanan's Lisammayude Veedu, a sequel to the 2006 film Achanurangatha Veedu.
Tamil
Meera Jasmine's Tamil film entry made her a well-known star in the South. The successes of the Tamil film Run and Bala (2002) gave her the chance to work with the established actors of the Tamil film industry. She won the Filmfare Best Female Debut Actress award for Run. The success of the films led her to work with directors such as Mani Ratnam in Aayutha Ezhuthu and SS Stanley in Mercury Pookkal. Her latest Tamil film, Mambattiyan got released in Dec' 2011. Meera has acted in 15 Tamil films.
Telugu and Kannada
Meera Jasmine became noted in the Telugu film industry with Run, the dubbed version of the same-titled Tamil film. She was in the Telugu films in 2004 with Ammayi Bagundi and Gudumba Shankar but also entered Kannada cinema by co-starring with Puneet Rajkumar in Maurya. Her Kannada film Arrasu again with Puneet Rajkumar and Ramya is a hit. Her other Kannada films include Devaru Kotta Thangi and Ijjodu.
Meera Jasmine's biggest commercial success in Telugu remains Bhadra with Ravi Teja in the male lead. Her other Telugu films are Raraju, Maharadhi, Yamagola Malli Modalayindi, Gorintaku and Maa Ayana Chanti Pilladu, in which she is paired for a second time with Sivaji.
She offered prayers at Raja Rajeshwara temple at Taliparamba in Kerala where the entry of non-Hindus is prohibited. This led to a controversy and sparked off a protest by Hindu devotees. Later, she paid 10,000 (US$182) as penalty to the temple authorities to conduct the purification rituals.